Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988) did the unthinkable: it threw out almost everything from the first game. Instead of a top-down quest, you get a side-scrolling action-RPG with experience points, magic spells, towns full of NPCs, and a stamina-draining combat system built on up-and-down sword thrusts.

It's hard — Death Mountain alone has ended countless quests, and the Great Palace at the end is a marathon. Fans were split then and still are now.

But it's also where Link learned the downward thrust, where Dark Link first appeared, and where a townsperson named Error delivered the immortal line "I AM ERROR." A weird, brave, fascinating sequel.